‘Friends’ Starts Streaming Again on May 27

Even though its final new episode aired in 2004, Friends remains one of the most valuable television shows on the planet. In 2018, Netflix paid a reported $100 million for the rights to stream the show for a single year. But those rights expired at the end of 2019. When the calendar ticked over to 2020, Friends left Netflix. And it hasn’t popped up anywhere else yet. If you don’t have the DVDs (or a TV that gets syndicated reruns), you might be going through Friends withdrawals after three-plus months without the show available on demand.

That changes on May 27. That’s when Friends’ new streaming home, HBO Max, officially launches to the public. The new site, owned by WarnerMedia, will be the “exclusive” streaming home for Friends for the next five years. (They paid a reported $425 million for those rights.)

HBO Max’s original plan called for the series to debut with a brand new unscripted reunion special featuring the six main Friends cast members. Unfortunately, the shooting of the special was delayed because of coronavirus. (HBO Max’s announcement of its launch slate now lists the special among the original programming due on the service “through summer and fall” of 2020.) But in the meantime you will be able to watch all 236 older episode of Friends on HBO Max, starting at the end of May. (You can read the full list of HBO Max’s launch titles right here.)